Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers
Jacocks, Henry Morgan, 1878-1950
Ms.1992.008
2 Cubic Feet
2 boxes; 2 oversize
1898-1919
This collection contains the papers of Henry Morgan Jacocks, graduate of Virginia Tech (class of 1900), assistant superintendent at Mathieson Alkali Works (Saltville, Virginia), independent businessman, and Virginia State Highway Department employee. Correspondence, trade catalogs, instructional booklets, blueprints, and drawings from Jacocks' years at Mathieson Alkali Works. Also includes a set of drafting standards for the Virginia Bridge and Iron Company and several photographs.
The materials in the collection are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to research.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers, 1898-1919, Ms1992-008, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers were donated to Special Collections in 1992.
Four additional photographs were donated in July 2014 by Matthew Kyle Jacocks, great-grandson of Henry Morgan Jacocks, B.S. Civil Engineering, 2007, M.S. Civil Engineering, emphasis in Construction, 2009.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement and description of the Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers commenced and was completed in December 2007. Earlier processing of the collection had been done in 1992. Additional description was completed in July 2017.
Biographical Note
Henry Morgan Jacocks, son of Jonathan Henry and Mary Katherine Harrell Jacocks, was born in Durant's Neck, North Carolina on December 31, 1878. He graduated from Berkeley Military Institute in 1895 before attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. A general science student at Virginia Tech, Jacocks was president of the Thespian and German clubs, vice-president of the Maury Society and served as literary editor of the
Grey Jacket and editor-in-chief of The Bugle. (A younger brother, Jonathan Wilbur Jacocks, also graduated from Virginia Tech in 1900.) Together with his younger brother Jonathan Wilbur, Jacocks graduated from Virginia Tech in 1900. He was hired by the Mathieson Alkali Works in Saltville, Virginia as an assistant draftsman. During his 17-year career at Mathieson, Jacocks would eventually rise to the position of assistant superintendent.
Around 1919, Jacocks moved to Craddock, Virginia, where he worked briefly for the Portsmouth Cotton Oil Refining Company before establishing H. M. Jacocks and Company. Selling fuel, feed and fertilizer, the business closed in 1933, a victim of the Depression and a warehouse fire. Following the closure of his business, Jacocks worked for the Virginia State Highway Department before retiring in 1950. He died in an automobile accident on August 20 of that same year and is buried in Norfolk's Magnolia Cemetery.
Scope and Content
This collection contains the papers of Henry Morgan Jacocks (1878-1950), graduate of Virginia Tech (class of 1900) and assistant superintendent of the Mathieson Alkali Works in Saltville, Virginia. The collection includes correspondence, operation notes, printed materials, blueprintsm, and photographs.
While Jacocks' papers contain a small selection of correspondence and records pertaining to Mathieson's operation, they largely consist of trade publications (both promotional and instructional). The catalogs promote steel products as well as various pieces of machinery and other products. The instructional materials consist of manuals for specific pieces of machinery as well as general technical publications. Within the collection is also a set of undated drafting standards for the Virginia Iron and Bridge Company (Roanoke, Virginia).
The papers also include a set of approximately two dozen blueprints and drawings, mostly for parts and machinery to be used at Mathieson. Except where otherwise noted, the drawings seem to have been completed in-house (a few were drawn by Jacocks himself). Among the drawings is a 1914 aerial view of Mathieson Alkali Works.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by document type, then chronologically, with the exception of the printed materials. These are divided by function, with promotional materials arranged by corporation name and instructional materials arranged in bibliographical order.
Separated Material
The following works were transferred to the Rare Book Collection in 1992:
Missing Title
- Hawkins, N., Indicator catechism : a practical treatise (New York: Theo. Audel & Co., 1903)
- Moldenke, Richard, The Principles of iron founding (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1917)
- Schimpf, Henry W., A Manual of volumetric analysis (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1909)
- Sexton, A Humboldt, Producer gas : a sketch of the properties, manufacture, and uses of gaseous fuel (Manchester: Scientific Publishing Company, n.d.)
The following works were tranferred to the Rare Book Collection in 2007:
Missing Title
- American Water Works Association, Standard specifications for cast iron water pipe and special castings : with tables of dimensions, thicknesses and weights, adopted May 12, 1908 ([S. l.: s.n., 1908]). (TD491 .A6 1908 Large Spec)
- Barr, William M., Boilers and furnaces considered in their relations to steam engineering (Philadelphia: The Florence Company, 1898). (TJ285 .B26 1898 Large Spec)
- Bell, Louis, Electric power transmission : a practical treatise for practical men (New York: Electrical World and Engineer, 1899). (TK1001 .B4 1899 Large Spec)
- Cincinnati Milling Machine Company, Manufacturers of milling machines and cutter grinders (Cincinnati: The Company, 1911). (TJ1190 .C5 1911)
- Cincinnati Milling Machine Company, Tool room data : indexing; cutting spirals; the new Cincinnati universal dividing head; patented index arrangement (Cincinnati, OH: Press of C. J. Krehbiel & Co., [1905]). (TJ1165 .c46 1905 Large Spec)
- Crucible Steel Company of America, Sanderson Bros. Steel Works (Pittsburgh, PA: Crucible Steel Company of America, 1911). (TS309 .C7 1911 Small Spec)
- Detroit Stoker and Foundry Company, Detroit Stoker and Foundry Company : Detroit automatic stokers ([Detroit, MI: The Company, 190-?]). (TJ345 .D4 1900 Small Spec)
- E. I. du Pont de Nemours Powder Company, Du Pont farmer's handbook : instruction in the use of dynamite for clearing land, planting and cultivating trees, drainage, ditching and subsoiling (Wilmington, DE: The Company, c1912)
- General Electric Company, Transformer testing for central station managers (Schenectady, NY: General Electric Company, 1900). (TK2551 .T75 1900 Small Spec)
- Gillespie, William M., A Treatise on surveying : comprising the theory and the practice, pt. II: higher surveying (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1901) (TA454 .G55 1903 pt. 2 Large Spec)
- Hall, William S., Elements of the differential and integral calculus with applications (New York: Van Nostrand, 1897). (QA303 .H17 1897 Large Spec)
- H. Boker & Co., Catalogue no. 1 (New York: Hermann Boker & Company), [ca. 1912]). (TS309 H4 1912 Large Spec)
- Halsey, Frederick A., Slide valve gears : an explanation of the action and construction of plain and cut-off slide valves (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1899). (TJ545 .H2 1899 Small Spec)
- John A. Roebling's Sons Company, Wire in electrical construction (Trenton, NJ: Brandt Press, 1897). (TK3305 R7 1897 Small Spec)
- Johnson, J. B., Engineering contracts and specifications : including a brief synopsis of the law of contracts and illustrative examples of the general and technical clauses of various kinds of engineering specifications, designed for the use of students, engineers, and contractors (New York: Engineering News, 1901). (TA180 .J6 1901 Large Spec)
- Manly, Harold P., Oxy-acetylene welding and cutting: electric, forge and thermit welding, together with related methods and materials used in metal working and the oxygen process for removal of carbon (Chicago: F. J. Drake, 1916). (TS227 .M25 1916 Small Spec)
- A Manual of the principal instruments used in American engineering and surveying, 37th ed., rev. (Troy, NY: W. & L. E. Gurley, 1904). (TA581 .M36 37th (rev.) Small Spec)
- A Manual of the principal instruments used in American engineering and surveying, 45th ed. (Troy, NY: W. & L. E. Gurley, 1910). (TA581 M36 45th Small Spec)
- Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company, List of steel and other products manufactured by Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company [and] Cambria Steel Company ... (Philadelphia: The Company, 1918). (TS309 M53 1918 Small Spec)
- Thorp, Frank Hall, Outlines of industrial chemistry : a text-book for students (New York: Macmillan, 1898). (TP145 .T5 1898 Large Spec)
- Walker, Francis Amasa, Political economy (New York: Henry Holt and Company). (HB171 .W2 1888 Large Spec)
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the Henry Morgan Jacocks Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).
Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
Science and Technology
Students and alumni
University History
Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (1896-1944)
Correspondence1906-191911Equipment maintenance ledger1918-191912Operational notes1917-1919, n.d.13"Virginia Bridge and Iron Company (Roanoke, Va.) - General rules and standards for draftsmen"n.d.14Photographsc.1898213Printed material: trade catalogs and promotional material1896-1918, n.d.A-B15 Barber and Kluttz, Architectsn.d.Basic Mineral Companyn.d.Beaumont Manufacturing Company1918Boston Gear Works1918Brown Engineering Companyn.d.Ca-Ch16 Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company1916-1918Ci-Cz17 Cleveland Twist Drill Company1918Crucible Steel Company of America1910-1916D-H18 The Fairbanks Companyn.d.Flextallic Gasket Companyn.d.H. Boker & Company1913-1914, n.d.I-J19 I. H. Dexter Company1915Industrial Press1907J. J. McCaben.d.Joseph Dixon Crucible Company1915-1916K-L110 Lagonda Manufacturing Companyn.d.Laidlaw-Dunn-Gordon Company1905Lawrence Machine Company1913M-N21 Mason Regulator Company1913Midvale Steel Company1912National Lead Companyn.d.O-R22 Peter A. Frasse & Company1917Risdon-Alcott Turbine Company1896, n.d.S23 S. Morgan Smith Company1911T24 Terry Steam Turbine Company1914, n.d.Trumpbour-Whitehead Brass & Copper Companyn.d.U-Z25 Warren Webster & Company1904Westinghouse Air Brake Company1904-1907Wm W. Nugent & Company1905Printed material: instructional booklets and technical bulletins1896-1918A26 "American pipe manual for engineers, contractors, water and gas works superintendents and all other users of cast iron pipe"n.d.B27 "The Blue book of rope transmission"1905"Book of instructions for installing and operating Dean boiler tube cleaner"n.d.C-H28 "Clay products for building construction"c. 1916"Directions for installing and operating Morse silent running power chains"c. 1917"Dont's [sic] for machinists and draftsmen"1907"Geodesy or measurement of the earth"1904"Gravity"1904"How to case-harden, color and anneal with granulated raw bone"n.d."How you may save money in operating your steam boilers"1916I-L29 "'Imperial' type ten duplex steam driven air compressors: instructions for installing and operating"1915"Instructions for installing copes type "B-H" boiler feed regulator"1917"Instructions for operating, erecting, inspecting and repairing Green's economizers"1899"Instructions for the installation and operating of alternating current generators"1899"Instructions for valve gear adjustment for Hamilton Corliss engines"1912M-Z210Myers, David Moffat, "The Factory fuel problem"n.d."Power notes: a steam, mechanical and consulting engineer's paper"1919-05"Reference guide for users of tank cars"1910Scott, Charles F., "The Systems and apparatus used in power transmission"1898"Welding and cutting with oxy-acetylene process"n.d.General printed materials1898-1918Inorganic chemistry: instruction paper with examination questions1898211 Lefax: ["a magazine of concentrated useful facts, self indexed and classified ready for filing"]1913-1918212Oversize Materials1898-1919, n.d.Blueprints and drawings1898-1913140-inch centrifugals (American Tool & Machine Company)1898Carbonating tower - division plate and mushroom1902Assembled elevation driving end19039-inch loading conveyor bevel gears1903Philadelphia vacuum engine - 4-inch poppet discharge valve1903Rotary furnace - 6-foot 10 1/8-inch sprocket1903Lime kiln - section and elevation1904Morgan gas producer flues - valves between producers and main flue1905Rotary furnace - miter gears for feed screw1907Rotary furnace - gear and pinion for feed screw1907Traps - automatic drain1908Engine room traps, automatic diaphram discharge1908Ammonia absorbing vat, assembled1909Lime kiln - assembled1909Bevel gear (Fawcus Machine Company)1910Spiral jaw clutch and thrust collar for McTear cooler drive1910Centrifugal pump, assembled1912Centrifugal pump - details of impeller1912Centrifugal pump - assembled 10 hp G. E. motor1913Rotary furnace-feed end assembly1913Blueprints and drawings1914-1919, n.d.2Mathieson Alkali Works (aerial view)1914Crushing plants (Hardaway Contracting Company)1914Distillers - detail of cast iron pedestal1915Caustic plant - plan and elevations of evaporators and condensers19166 x 6 Type A engine (American Blower Works)1916Rotary furnace - gas inlet piping with valve rig and connections1917Water supply - plan and elevation of piping and centrifugal pumps1917Gas producer plant - details C. I. valve, exp. door, manhole and C.1917Gas producer - plan and elevation Wickes boiler1917Rotary furnace - drivers to coolers, elevators, and conveyors1917N. P. C. 871917Victor vertical engine assembly (Erie Engine Works)1917Mud distiller - assembled1918Forged steel evener with renewal cap 10 producer gas machine1919Plant lime slakers - details "log washer slaker"1919Milk of lime de-sander1919Milk of lime de-sander (revised)1919Pinion for Dorr decantersn.d.